#AIxED2025
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SPEAKERS
Be a part of the conversation that is shaping the state of AI in Education.
Noe Ortega, Ph.D.
Commissioner of Higher Education
Noe Ortega, Ph.D., was sworn in as Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education on November 1, 2022. He has led the Department of Higher Education (DHE) through a time of historic investment by the state legislature and Healey-Driscoll Administration in affordability and access for all learners in the Commonwealth. Dr. Ortega is dedicated to closing equity gaps through the Board of Higher Education’s four strategic priorities: Student Success and Affordability, Economic Mobility, Public Good, and Innovation.
Usama Fayyad
AI Transformation Leader
Usama Fayyad is the Chairman and Founder of Open Insights, a consultancy based in Silicon Valley and Seattle that he launched in 2008. He is the SVP of AI & Data Strategy, Senior Advisor to the President, and Inaugural Director of the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University. Previously, he served as Chief Data Officer and Group Managing Director at Barclays in London, Chief Data Officer and EVP at Yahoo!, and co-founded multiple companies in data mining, AI, and digital innovation. Over his career, Fayyad has been recognized as a pioneer in big data, AI-driven business transformation, and large-scale analytics, with impact spanning technology, healthcare, finance, and telecommunications.
Xiao-Li Meng
Statistics & Data Science Leader
Xiao-Li Meng is the Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics at Harvard University and Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Data Science Review. He specializes in statistical computation, Bayesian inference, and methods for complex and high-dimensional data. Meng has published extensively, delivered hundreds of research presentations worldwide, and has held leadership roles including Chair of Harvard’s Department of Statistics and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Izzat Jarudi
AI Innovator and Cognitive Scientist
Izzat Jarudi has worked in AI-driven companies such as Cambridge Mobile Telematics, where he was a manager for large product and data science teams supporting millions of users and using cutting-edge machine learning techniques. As Co-Founder and CEO of Edifii, Dr. Jarudi is developing an AI and Neuroscience-based mentor for students, counselors, and parents. Edifii was one of eight companies chosen nationally by the US Department of Education for its Small Business Innovation Research grant in 2024 and 2025 and was a member of the inaugural cohort of Techstars Economic Mobility program in 2023.
Pelin Bicen
AI & Marketing Strategist
Pelin Bicen is a professor of marketing at Suffolk University specializing in global marketing strategy, analytics, innovation management, and supply chain management. Her research has been published in leading journals and presented internationally. Recently, Pelin has focused on the role of artificial intelligence in shaping work, skills, and education, integrating AI-driven approaches into business curricula to prepare students for the global marketplace.
Seth Reynolds
EY-Parthenon Education Practice Leader
Seth Reynolds works with leaders to design strategies that build resilient, sustainable, and successful organizations. As head of Sustainability and Education at EY-Parthenon, the strategy consulting arm of Ernst & Young LLP, he helps clients achieve strong financial performance while driving positive social impact.
His clients span start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, universities, school districts, government agencies, and global foundations. A recognized voice in the education sector, Seth has spoken at major forums including LearnLaunch Across Boundaries, EdTech Week, and SXSWedu.
Shannon McKeen
Professor and Executive Director
Shannon McKeen is a Professor of Practice and Executive Director for the Center of Analytics
Impact at Wake Forest University's School of Business. His work focuses on data science,
experiential learning, and professional skills development.
Shannon has taught at UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, and Dartmouth College. Prior to
academia, he spent 30 years in industry as a consultant and executive in sales and marketing,
including roles at Price Waterhouse Coopers and Hanesbrands.
Louis NeJame
Edtech Entrepreneur
Louis NeJame is the founder of Manati, an AI-driven platform supporting instructional designers in creating high-quality online courses. He previously led the development of AI Reader at McGraw Hill Higher Education and advised leading organizations through his work at Tyton Partners, where he contributed to research initiatives such as Time for Class with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dan Be Kim
Research Assistant
Dan Be Kim is a researcher at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program and a graduate student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with interests in AI, youth engagement, and wellbeing.
Paul Tesluk
Leadership Development Pioneer
Paul Tesluk is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bentley University. He previously served as Dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management, where he founded the Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. A nationally recognized scholar in leadership, teams, and organizational change, his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. He is a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Society for Organizational Behavior.
Gaurav Shah
Hybrid Learning Innovator
Gaurav Shah is a Learning Technologist with over 20 years of experience helping faculty and students thrive through smartly integrated communication, information, and pedagogical technologies. At Bentley University, he has overseen a range of initiatives—from designing next-generation classrooms and active learning spaces, to delivering courses in alternate and online modalities. He led the development and launch of Bentley’s first Online Professional MBA program, created and taught an online course in Effective Business Communications, and recently led a full-scale overhaul of classroom technologies to enable large-scale hybrid learning.
Rahul Divekar
Conversational AI Innovator
Rahul Divekar is an Assistant Professor at Bentley University, specializing in Human–AI interaction, conversational AI, and immersive learning technologies. He previously served as a Research Associate at Educational Testing Service and conducted research at IBM Research – Thomas J. Watson Research Center.
At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rahul was instrumental in developing the Rensselaer Mandarin Project, an immersive language learning environment that combines Embodied Conversational AI, extended reality, and task-based scenarios to teach Mandarin Chinese.
Melissa Hey
Environmental Science Educator
Dr. Melissa Hey is a Lecturer in the Natural and Applied Sciences department at Bentley University, specializing in environmental science and sustainability. Trained in terrestrial ecology, her research focuses on the effects of artificial light at night (ALAN) on community dynamics, decomposition, and trophic interactions. She is also dedicated to enhancing undergraduate education through mentorship and inclusive pedagogy.
Recently, Dr. Hey has explored the integration of AI in education, investigating its potential to enrich teaching and learning experiences. She actively engages in discussions on how AI can support both students and educators in adapting to a technologically evolving landscape.
Peter Shea
AI in Education, Learning Professional
Peter Shea is a learning professional with extensive experience as a designer, instructor, editor, writer, and professional development manager. He is an advocate for highly immersive learning experiences and for using learning analytics to inform learning design. He has spent several years as director of professional development at the community college level and created the first open educational inclusive pedagogy resource collection for the community colleges of Massachusetts. In addition, he served as a teaching assistant for a course on Adult Learning at Harvard Extension School.
Isabella Douzoglou
Interdisciplinary Scientist
Isabella Douzoglou is an interdisciplinary scientist,
innovator, hacker, PhD Student in biophysics, and startup founder. Her experience in computer science, physics and now engineering, is a evidence that aside from mentorship, what is needed to learn is curiosity and perseverance.
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Steve Ouellette
AI in Public School's Leader
Steve has been the Director of Technology, Learning, and Innovation for Westwood Public
Schools since 2010. Before that, he held the position of Math Department Chair in the Walpole
and Westwood school districts. In his current role, Steve oversees a staff of 12 people with
responsibilities that range from maintaining the district’s technology infrastructure to working
with staff to leverage technology in meaningful ways to empower students to be the best
learners possible.
Gabriela Torres Vives
Co-founder, Aethos @MIT
Gabriela works at the intersection of Human-AI interaction, behavioral design, and education. They co-founded Sundai Club and Aethos in the MIT ecosystem to foster AI prototyping, start-up acceleration, and AI safety research, and are expanding these communities in Latin America through Sundai Latam. Her research spans digital privacy and financial infrastructure, including co-authoring Enhancing the Privacy of a Digital Pound with the Bank of England at the MIT Media Lab and contributing to projects on digital economies in the Global South.
Before focusing on AI, Gabriela worked in corporate finance and digital transformation and founded a non-profit EdTech initiative for teenagers in Peru.
Kristen Fox
CEO, Business-Higher Education Forum
Kristen has spent two decades working at the intersection of education innovation, digital learning, career mobility, and workforce development. A frequent author and presenter, she is deeply committed to exploring how education can transform lives and to partnering with organizations that harness that power at scale.
Throughout her 20-year career, Kristen has helped shape initiatives that bridge learning and opportunity, driving systemic change across sectors. Her work reflects a lifelong dedication to creating accessible, impactful pathways for learners and workers in a rapidly evolving economy.
Thomas Van de Velde
Building AI-Powered Education
Thomas Van de Velde is a technology executive and educator with over 20 years of experience leading digital transformations. At Accenture, he spent 12 years helping major retailers like Best Buy harness data and AI to serve online customers. At Amazon, he led global AI-driven operations that optimized fulfillment networks, shaped worldwide grocery and one-hour delivery services, and co-founded Amazon Fresh stores and Locker pickup points. Today, as founder of TeachPilot, lecturer at Tufts University, and a member of the Presidential Advisory Board of Greenway Institute - a pioneering nonprofit reimagining engineering education - Thomas is focused on democratizing engineering education. He applies his experience solving complex real-world problems to create AI-powered, project-based learning that connects authentic challenges with skill development.
Andrea Claver
Educational Technology Professional
Andrea is an educational technology professional committed to expanding access and opportunity in learning. She serves as Project Manager for the EDSAFE AI Alliance at InnovateEDU, where she helps drive collaboration around the future of AI in education. With nearly a decade of experience in professional development, content creation, and community engagement, she has led district and statewide initiatives reaching more than 1,500 educators and administrators. Her work is grounded in impact, innovation, and authentic collaboration, all in service of transforming learning environments for every student.
Kristi Girdharry
Director and Tutor
Kristi Girdharry is the Director of the Writing Center and an Associate Teaching Professor in the Arts and Humanities division of Babson College, where she teaches courses on writing, tutoring, and social media. Her work brings together teaching, research, and community engagement, with a particular focus on how writing and literacy practices shape inclusion, access, and belonging. In addition to her research, Kristi co-edits the Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series, helping bring key trends and conversations in Writing Studies to a broader teaching community. Her most recent work explores the role of artificial intelligence in the writing classroom, examining how emerging technologies are reshaping writing pedagogy and student learning.
Marta McAlister
Google Classroom Leader
Marta McAlister is a former teacher turned Googler who came to Google to build products for educators. In her 14+ years at Google, Marta has worked on every product across the k12 and higher education Google for Education portfolio. Marta currently manages teams bringing products across Chrome, Android and Google for Education to market. She also leads Sales & Channel Enablement for both the Education and Enterprise go-to-market teams. Outside of work, Marta spends much of her time with her family - particularly with her two sons who keep her energy and sense of humor up. Marta is also engaged with the Boston Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Board, the Tech Advisory Board for UP Academy Network, and the Emerging Leaders Board for Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE). She graduated from Brown University and has her M.Ed in childhood and special education from Hunter College.
Yakut Gazi
Vice Provost at Duke University
Yakut Gazi is the Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Digital Education at Duke University. Her higher education experience spans over 32 years in four countries. Dr. Gazi has her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University, and an M.A. in Educational Sciences and a B.S. in Teaching Chemistry, both from Bogazici University in Turkey. A native of Istanbul, Dr. Gazi is married, with a daughter.
Hamit Hamutcu
AI & Data Strategy Leader
Hamit is the founder of AIxEd, which aims to explore the future of AI in learning, teaching, and the transformation of educational institutions. He brings 30 years of industry and consulting experience in data and AI. He was a Senior Advisor at the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University where he led strategy and educational programs in AI upskilling. He is also co-editor at Harvard Data Science Review and co-founder of the Initiative for Analytics and Data Science Standards, a nonprofit initiative that aims to develop industry standards for the knowledge and skills required in data science roles and data and AI literacy. Previously, Hamit was a managing partner for Peppers & Rogers Group in Stamford, Connecticut, where he headed the Global Analytics Group and launched several offices for the company globally